God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
What is true worship? If you think about that question for long, you will find that there must be many answers to it because there are so many churches doing so many different things and calling it worship.
If you were to sit in on a different service every Sunday morning, you would find that some churches are very different in style from other churches. You find what is called the "high church" style. There you find a great deal of formality and ritual. Sometimes choirs march in a great processional. The ministers wear robes. The atmosphere is generally somber. Things are always done exactly the same way without any deviation.
Then there is what some call the "low church" style. Here there is often no printed order of worship, although they have their unwritten order. The atmosphere is very informal. Unexpected things happen and are not considered interruptions. The service is not somber, but lively and can sometimes seem even overly so.
Then, of course, there are a variety of styles in between those two. Which is right? Obviously, the one you personally prefer! — at least in your eyes. The truth is that they could all be right or all be wrong and whether they are has little to do with the style but everything to do with the worshipper.
Now many feel that God is moving in His church in a fresh way today. They feel that a part of this fresh move of God is a restoration of true praise and worship. I think this is true. If it is true, then we ought to understand what God is emphasizing. After all, praise and worship are His ideas.
A careful reading of the Scriptures will reveal that God has created us to worship and commanded us to worship Him also. Over and over in Psalm 150 we hear the command to "praise the Lord!"
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
God commands us to praise Him. And God is saying to His church today, as He has said many times in the past, "Praise Me!"
When I began to understand the emphasis God places on praise, I also began to wonder why. Why does God place so much emphasis on praise directed toward Himself? It seemed strange. I want people to praise me because I need to be stroked. But God has no inferiority complex. He does not have an ego which needs to be massaged. He doesn’t need praise so that He can feel better about Himself. Why then would God command us to praise Him? I believe the answer lies not in God, but in us.
God doesn’t command us to praise Him because He needs our praise. God commands us to praise Him because we need what praise can do in our lives. God doesn’t need to be praised, but we need to praise Him. Praise and worship does something for us!
God has commanded us to worship because praise and worship is an imperative for every Christian. This means that it is absolutely essential for us to engage in praise and worship. It is essential because God created us to praise Him.
By nature we were created to praise and worship God. Wherever you find human beings, you find them worshiping something. Whether in the darkest jungle or right here in America, people are worshiping. They may not be worshiping in some formal sense in a house of worship, but they are worshiping nonetheless.
In the jungle they may be—worshiping a rock or a tree. In America they may be worshiping at some other altar. It seems that there is a need for human beings to reach out beyond themselves and give honor and adoration to something larger. Human beings will have a god, even if it is not the true God.
Of course, God desires for us to become true worshipers who are worshiping the true God. In John 4:23-24 we read, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
God has called us to be these true worshipers. He has commanded us to worship Him in spirit and truth. Indeed, the text indicates that God seeks those kind of worshipers.
To worship God in spirit and truth means that we worship the true God. It means that our worship should be in honesty and integrity. It means that our worship should be spiritual, full of passion, engaging the whole person, and supernatural in nature.
This is the highest calling for every believer. In fact, Christians are compared with Old Testament priests. In the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices to God. According to the New Testament, we are all priests who offer sacrifices as well. In the Old Testament the priests would offer animals as a burnt offering. As New Testament priests, we offer a different kind of sacrifice, but a sacrifice nonetheless.
In 1 Peter 2:4-5 we read, "And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
A few verses later, in verse 9 we read, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
Here we are told that we are a royal priesthood, and that our job is to offer up spiritual sacrifices. What are these spiritual sacrifices? Hebrews 13:15 tells us. There we read, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." The spiritual sacrifices that we are to offer are sacrifices of praise. What is this praise? It is the fruit of our lips. In other words, it is verbal, vocal praise.
The passage in Hebrews corresponds to another passage in Hosea. In Hosea 14:1-2 we read, "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto Him, ‘Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips.’" (KJV). The fact that the words of praise we offer to God are considered "the calves of our lips" is further evidence that praise is the sacrifice we offer to God as New Testament priests.
Therefore, this is a high calling. Entering into true praise and worship is not optional for any of us. It is a command of God. It is imperative that we come to understand and practice true biblical praise and worship.
But what are the consequences of practicing true praise and worship? We have already mentioned that we engage in praise and worship, not for God’s benefit as much as for our benefit. So we might ask what praise and worship does for us. Why do we need to praise and worship God? Let’s look briefly at five reasons we need to do so.
First, God commanded it. This should be an obvious reason. We have already stated that God considers praise and worship an imperative for every believer. God desires people who will praise and worship Him. So, one motivation for true praise and worship is that we want to be obedient to God.
Second, God is worthy of it. In Revelation 4:11 we read, "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created." God is worthy of our praise because He is our Creator and our Lord.
Throughout the book of Revelation we catch a glimpse of heavenly worship. John’s vision transports us into heaven itself and there we see that a chief activity is praise. Consider Revelation 5:11-12, "And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’"
Again in Revelation 7:11-12 we read, "And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’"
We had better get used to praise and worship on this earth because that is what we will be doing in heaven. We should do it here because our God is worthy of our praise.
Third, it brings us into His presence. Praise and worship is the path leading to God. We are told in Psalm 100:4 to, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise."
As we praise and worship God, we shift our focus from ourselves and our situation to Him. This makes us aware of His presence. This brings us into communion with Him. We become aware of His glory and greatness, of His majesty and power. We turn our attention from lesser things and focus on that which is the ultimate, our Lord and God. Praise and worship transports us into the very presence of the living God. It places us in a position where we can hear from Him and receive His ministry.
Fourth, it gives us His perspective on our situation. Because we are transported, as it were, into His presence, we now behold His greatness and become aware of His ability to deal with our situation.
You see, when we had our eyes on our situation or problem, our situation or problem looked pretty large. When we shift our attention, however, from our situation or problem to the God who made this universe, then our situation or problem is seen in proper perspective. While it looked big to us while we were focusing only on it, when we began to behold the glory, majesty, might and power of God, suddenly the problem didn’t look as big anymore. Looking at the problem in light of the majesty and ability of God makes the problem look solvable. Praise and worship gives us God’s perspective on our situation, which is what we all need.
Fifth and finally, it changes us. Praise and worship changes our attitudes and thinking. It is impossible to become one who truly praises and worships God and still be sour and cynical. Praise and worship will transform our very character. It will make us people of hope, people of faith. Through praise and worship, God will do a mighty work in us. That alone is sufficient reason to become one who places great emphasis on praise and worship.
You and I have been called to lift up our voices in praise and worship. We are New Testament priests, commanded to offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Sometimes it is more of a sacrifice than at other times. But at all times we ought to be people of praise, because our God is worthy of our praise, and because we receive so much through praise. Make it your priority.
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